The present invention relates to hand towels which incorporate both hydrophobic and hydrophilic components. In particular, the present invention relates to hand towels which allow a user to feel that the towel remains dry, but which also allow for absorption of moisture. Further, the present invention also relates to methods of making such hand towels.
After hand washing, typically a paper-based hand towel is used to dry one""s hands, particularly in public restrooms. Often, such a towel is used until its outer layer(s) feels wet to the touch, sometimes resulting in moisture remaining on the hands of the user, and a sense that the drying experience has been insufficient. At that point, the wet towel is disposed and another towel may be dispensed to continue drying. Unfortunately, this practice often fails to use the full absorptive capacity of the hand towel. Although the outer layer(s) of the used towel feels wet, the towel may still have unutilized absorptive capacity. However, the user""s perception that the hand towel is wet and that its continued use will cause moisture on the towel to retransfer back to the user""s hands (i.e. rewetting), causes the user to discard the towel and replace it with a fresh dry one. Consequently, the failure to utilize the towel""s full capacity results in waste, either in the extra towels required by the user to attain a dry feeling, or the excess raw materials added by the manufacturer of the towel, in order to compensate for the wet sensation, such excess raw materials assuring adequate absorption of moisture, but in effect, overcompensating by producing hand towels with.greater absorption capacity than is truly necessary to assure the dryness objective.
In this regard, personal care products, such as diapers, feminine protective pads, and training pants, have often been produced with superabsorbents to enhance the absorption abilities of a cellulosic or nonwoven material. While such materials may be highly effective for drawing fluid away from the skin contact surface of an absorptive product, such superabsorbents may not be structurally practical, or pose logistical challenges to the construction of a hand towel. Furthermore, such superabsorbents are often costly, and could significantly increase the paper towel cost to the consumer.
While hydrophobic material has been used in connection with paper towels in the past, it is not believed that there has been a use of such materials in a manner that would create a uniform sense of dryness throughout the surface of a paper towel. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 1,122,959 to Little, for a Paper Towel, describes hydrophobic material which is printed on the surface of a paper towel for strength reinforcement attributes. Such strength reinforcement is accomplished along specific narrow lines on the paper towel surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,202 to Everhart et al. for a Process for Making a High Pulp Content Nonwoven Composite Fabric, describes a composite nonwoven fabric potentially creating greater than seventy weight percent pulp which is created by hydraulically entangling pulp fibers into a continuous filament substrate. The continuous filament substrate may be hydraulically entangled with one pulp layer on one side and if desired, a different pulp layer on the other side, creating a composite with two pulp-rich sides. The high pulp content may be used in a heavy duty wiper and as an absorbent personal care product as a distribution layer, for improving fluid transport away from the skin of a user to the absorbent layer, increasing separation between the moisture in the absorbent core and the skin of a user.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,377 to Chen et al. for Dual-Zoned Absorbent Webs which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes a web in which hydrophobic fibers are placed external to paper in order to change the wetting characteristics. The web is a three dimensional absorbent web having both peaks and valleys, of which the hydrophobic material has been deposited on the peaks. The web is used to promote both fluid flow and dry feel. The web is created by depositing hydrophobic matter on the upper-most body contacting regions on the three dimensional hydrophilic web.
Accordingly, there is a need for an affordable hand towel that retains the dry feeling uniformly throughout the entire towel surface, yet continues to absorb moisture during the hand drying process. Such towels would ideally not create the impression of xe2x80x9crewettingxe2x80x9d the user. Such a towel could reduce waste by allowing the utilization of substantially the entire absorbency capacity of the towel, thereby reducing towel consumption rates and/or raw material consumption rates (leading to a reduction in towel basis weight). Such a towel could also improve the utility of a single hand towel and ultimately improve overall costs to the consumer.
An absorbent multilayered web includes a top surface layer, with the top surface layer including first and second fibers, wherein the first fibers are hydrophilic and the second fibers are hydrophobic, and further wherein the first and said second fibers are substantially uniformly distributed on the top surface layer, and at least one additional layer.
As an alternative, such second fibers are included from about 10 to about 50 percent of the top surface layer. As a further alternative embodiment, the hydrophobic fibers are chemically treated cellulosic fibers. In still a further alternative embodiment, the hydrophobic fibers are chemically treated with an amino polysiloxane. In still a further alternative embodiment, the additional layer includes hydrophilic fibers
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the absorbent multi-layered web includes a first outer layer and a second outer layer. The first and second outer layers contain first and second fibers. The first fibers are hydrophilic and the second fibers are hydrophobic. Such first and second fibers are substantially uniformly distributed on the first and second outer layers of the web. A third, middle layer is disposed between the first and second outer layers, and contains predominantly hydrophilic fibers. In an alternative embodiment of this embodiment, the second fibers make up from about 10 to about 50 percent of the first and second outer layers.
A method of making an absorbent multi-layered web includes the steps of providing hydrophilic fibers; providing hydrophobic fibers; forming a first web layer of substantially uniformly distributed hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers; creating at least a second web layer; and joining said first layer with said web second layer.